sounds like I'm about the same body size. 6-4, 225lbs (carrying about 15 lbs extra), 36 inch waist and 36 inch inseam. I had the same concerns about the cockpit size of the chesapeake 18 that I am building (31 by 17). My main thing is leg room. I always have problems with my knees. Any car or truck I drive, by knees end up at the dashboard to get into a comfortable driving position. There are some rides at amusement parks that I have to wedge into because of my legs. Commuter services just don't seem to realize that there are people out there with long legs. So, yeah, I was concerned about the cockpit size. My plan was to go with a 34 X 18, so I move the deck beam forward 4 inches during the build. After I got the deck on and glassed, I put the kayak on foam blocks and tested to see if I could get in. The rough opening on mine was roughly 1.5 inches smaller in both dimensions. To my surprise, I was able to get in and pull my legs out while in the seated position(but with little room to spare). So I stuck with the standard cockpit size figuring that the extra 1.5 in would be about right. I moved my foot brace brackets forward about 4 inches from what was recommended in the manual. Still have about 2 inches between the foot brace and the forward bulkhead. Plenty of room. One thing to consider; I have size 13 feet, so wearing a pair of sperry docksiders, there was just enough room with my heel touching and feet on the pegs even though the product description says good for size 14. I did modify the cockpit coaming by cutting off the knee brace extensions that form the keyhole shape. My knees end up a little bit forward and outboard of those extensions so not much use to me. So my  cockpit has more of an egg shape and gives more room to get my legs in. Plus saved a few ounces of weight. Looking at the dimensions in the chesapeake manual, the chesapeake double looks to have a cavernous aft cockpit compared to the chesapeake 18, but the forward cockpit looks quite a bit tighter. Not sure how  that compares to the sport tandem. Could make a difference for you. Based on my build progress, hopefully I can give a better assessment of the finished standard cockpit in a couple of weeks. Hope this helps. Dave

Hi,

I am 6'3" 200lb, i built a ches 17; it has the same size cockpit; I did not modify the cockpit at all. I wear a size 15 shoe so I paddle bare foot. I don't have any problem with leg room as the forward bulkhead is plenty far  forward. I do however use a thigh pad to keep my legs from going numb.  

Thanks for the help guys. It sounds like i should be all right  I'm sure you tall guys understand my concern and why the question needed asked. So my last point of intrest is about the stability.  I'm most seriously considering getting the Chesapeake sport tandam (21' 8" with a 22" beam) followed by a chesapeak double. (21' 30" beam) I have rented a 16' 6'  boat with a 23.5" beam ( plastic wilderness systems tsunami) and found it to be plenty stable for me. Never came close to even feeling like I was going to go over, even while fighting a silver salmon. I my understanding is that the hard chine increases stability over what one could normaly expect from say a wilderness systems boat, and that the longer boat is more stable due to the greater length of the side that is pushing against  the water. So I'm expecting this sport tandem to have similar stability to the wilderness systems boat even though it does have a narrower beam. Am I off in this expectation? So I am wanting to use this boat for some longer distance touring, and having not done any long trips myself i am not sure if the increased speed (and therefore decreased fatigue at the end of a 20 mile day) is worth the sacrifice of stability. The 30" beam on the  regular chesapeake is sure to be much more stabile than the  22" beam on the sport tandam I relise that, but is the sport tandam stable enough for extended touring with possibility of difficult seas? Or do I really  need the extra 8" of stability? I just don't have the experience to relley know, all I can do is guess, so input from those of you lucky enough to have the experiences would be very much appreciated. Thanks. 

I'm 6'1" 220 and started with 18'x24" touring boat 5 years ago. I was new to sport and wanted a stable boat, (I really didn't want to practice my swimming skills) Two years later I built a Shearwater 17'X 22", I loved it, much faster and still stable. Last winter I built a Bluefin 18'x21", I have been out atleast 40 times this season from quiet waters to 2' lake chop and other than adding a rudder I feel compfortable and quite stable with a narrower boat. I would opt for the sport as long as you are not doing any extended multiday trips. I have packed my BlueFin to the gills on a four day trip in the Outter Banks and other than slower she was very stable.

Phil